[Magic Department 1st Semester Midterm Exam Results Notice]
– 1st Place: Adel Bliss (1st Year, Class B)
A large notice was posted on the wall.
“……”
I had just discovered it a little while ago.
Trying to recall how this all came about—
Right after the tense atmosphere caused by the sudden inspection had finally eased up, people started staring at me more and more.
At first, I ignored it and focused on class, though even the professors were acting strangely friendly.
“……?”
Was this the delayed reaction to the barrier incident finally setting in? Since I’d been bedridden all this time, that might be the reason.
On the surface, it did look like I was the one who had resolved the situation. If we’d left the swelling barrier alone, it could’ve ended in catastrophe.
But then, during lunch—
“……Hey.”
“……”
“Um… hi? Adel.”
“You talking to me?”
“Yeah. First time we’ve talked, right? I’m Albret. I’m sure you know the Countess here…”
“…Though I wasn’t hoping to be recognized.”
“I wanna say hi too!”
When classmates who had only ever whispered from a distance started approaching me to say hello, I had no choice but to realize:
Something’s happened.
It wasn’t hard to figure out the reason. While I was giving vague replies, they brought it up first.
“Hey, so. I’m really curious. How did you pull it off?”
“Me too! Perfect scores in every subject?! Is that even possible?!”
“……?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t pretend you don’t know. The notice on the first-floor bulletin board. You haven’t seen it?”
“Sorry, but I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about. Honestly, I’m just confused that you’re suddenly talking to me.”
“Ugh… Th-The midterm rankings. You really didn’t know? The entire Magic Department is going crazy about it. Ah! Where are you going?!”
“…….”
And so, I came down to check it out.
Even the walk here was ridiculous. Students were grouped in clusters along the hallway, staring at me like a pack of meerkats on alert…
– Is that… the one?
– Where’s he going?
– I heard the professors called him in like crazy earlier.
– Wow. He’s changed so much. Wasn’t he that gloomy-looking Adel? Now he’s kind of…
“Well, I guess that’s to be expected.”
I could understand becoming first place.
After all, I was an early admission student.
But that “staff and laurel crown” symbol was the real issue.
It’s a mark that professors can only award to one student per year. Considering that most professors teach students from first to third year…
For a first-year student to receive that symbol…it was an unprecedented event.
……The Magic Tower must’ve caught wind of this too.
Staring at the bulletin board in silence, I turned and walked away. Now that I’d seen the results, I could pretty much guess why I got that score.
Looks like I mixed in too much strategy knowledge.
Receiving the mark of recognition was nice.
But being dragged into a troublesome situation….definitely not.
There would soon be internal admissions offers from professors. Invitations from various guilds and even scouting offers from the Mage Tower.
And now, out of nowhere, nobles would surely line up, eager to sponsor me.
The classmates approaching me earlier were likely doing so for that very reason.
It was obvious they’d been told over the weekend to get close to Adel Bliss.
Guess I can’t slack off on the finals either… no, wait. The professors saw me taking command back then, didn’t they?
That sealed it. Rumors about Adel Bliss being incredibly talented would already be quietly spreading.
…Maybe even whispers that I possessed talent rivaling that of Heinel Shifter.
They say, “If you can’t get the pheasant, settle for the chicken.”
Now that the Magic Tower has already snatched her up, the other factions will surely scramble to secure me instead.
Hmm. I’ll have to revise my plans.
At this point, there was no helping it. What’s done is done….I can’t undo it.
And if it’s come to this…
Rather than being dragged around, it’s better to be the one holding the reins.
“I should start a club.”
The goal is simple.
A clear message: if you want contact with Adel Bliss, go through this club.
Of course, I wouldn’t be the club president. That role is better suited to Camilla.
“Hehehe.”
The thought of Camilla somehow ending up as president despite herself made me chuckle.
It might be interesting to form it with only playable characters as members.
…Just thinking about it made my heart swell with excitement.
Of course, whether they’d actually agree to join is another matter entirely.
***
“…Sally?”
Lunchtime.
I headed to the bathroom we always used, but Sally wasn’t there.
“……”
Did we miss each other? I was a bit late because I’d stopped to check the rankings.
No… that couldn’t be it. We’d both been late at times before. She must not have come at all.
I thought about going to find her but then realized I had no idea where she even stayed.
“Hmm…”
A low sigh escaped me. Now that I thought about it, I’d been the one avoiding her.
I didn’t really have the right to say anything.
Maybe I’d just been too self-centered.
But back then, even just dealing with Camilla had been overwhelming. So I hadn’t had the mental space to also deal with “White Ship”…
If she keeps showing up like usual, I’ll run into her eventually.
There was something I needed to hear from her.
And something I needed to tell her, too.
***
After school, I trained for a while in the gymnasium.
In the dormitory, I pushed my limits by taking on trials in my demon form, using my Unique Trait.
And I calculated the NP consumption for spells I’d need to learn in the future.
Days like that continued for a while.
I was told that the application period for clubs hadn’t started yet. That was a bit disappointing.
Until then, I had to personally turn down every approach that came my way.
“Adel, are you in your room? A sponsored package arrived.”
“Ah. If it’s that, please return it with the letter I gave you last time enclosed.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to check the sender?”
“Yes.”
Most of the time, I declined things like that.
Only the Harunsdel Merchant Guild sent something a second time, so I figured they might be a bit persistent. But that ended with the second delivery as well.
The ones who were really persistent were the professors.
…Especially Professors Topyren and Sedin, who gave me a staff and laurel crown out of nowhere in the very first semester.
“Adel, could you come to my office after class today?”
“Of course.”
“Adel, I need to talk to you about the report you submitted last time. Please stop by my room after class.”
“Again… Understood.”
They took turns calling me in like that.
I had to turn down their offers to give me shoulder massages a few times.
Somehow, I grew fond of them.
I suppose it was just because I saw them too often.
Professor Topyren, who was older, would sometimes boast about his one-year-old granddaughter.
And with Professor Sedin, who was well past the prime age for marriage, I somehow ended up close enough to hear about her love life in casual conversation.
To be honest, I didn’t particularly want to hear it.
All I did was say things like, “I see”, “That’s impressive”, or “Really?”
“Talking with you puts me at ease, Adel.”
“I see.”
“Well, after reading your essays and seeing your leadership… I guess it just feels like I can set aside the weighty title of ‘professor’ when I’m with you. Like I don’t need to keep up appearances.”
“Really?”
“Well, would I be talking about my family if that weren’t the case?”
“I see.”
“…They keep pestering me to get married. Isn’t it just too much? I’ve spent my whole life holding a staff instead of a man’s hand, and now they suddenly want me to settle down…”
“That’s impressive.”
“…That’s just cruel, Adel. I’m pretty, aren’t I? At least a little?”
“I see.”
“…There’s absolutely no sincerity in that… Well, I guess it’s ridiculous for someone like me to be talking about this with a student like you…”
“Really?”
“N-No, I didn’t mean to belittle you or anything…”
To be honest, listening to them talk like that was pretty entertaining.
It was far better than just having stiff, formal conversations, and the fact that they were professors saying all this often made me chuckle.
As if there had never been a single inspection, my days were peaceful.
I also kept up my review of the auction house records.
Specifically, I had already gone back through data from two years ago.
“I can finally see the next step.”
Here’s the list of magic books I’ve compiled so far that I need to get my hands on:
[Magic Wave Fixation Spell] – A Study on the Phase Shifts of Magic
[Rotational Projectile Spell] – What Increases Destructive Power
[Advanced Anti-Greatsword Defense Magic] – The Source of Mana Cores Interpreted Through Magic Power
[High-Output Flame Jet Spell] – Let There Be Fire
[Lightning Strike Spell] – An Analysis of Magical Thunder
[Forced Spell Activation] – Advanced Understanding Magic Waves.
There’s no need to physically obtain the books. With the NP system, all I really need is a quick glance at the spell structures.
And there are plenty of ways to do that. Some noble houses eager to sponsor me already have copies of those books, and there’s always the option of going through the Black Alley.
When’s the next full moon again…?
The dark side of Black Alley holds more than just “Night Fruit”.
Shady dealings and thieves go hand in hand, after all. So it’s not hard to find people skilled in this kind of work.
Which means it’s something I can simply take care of later.
I continued combing through the auction records.
Then, suddenly—
“Hmm?”
A familiar name caught my eye.
● Auction Seller: [Austin Bliss]
● Item: Staff of Aspiration (White Cedar)
● Instant Purchase Price: 2,000,000 Imperial Gold
● Final Auction Price: 8,000,000 Imperial Gold
● Auction Officer: Charlotte
The name of my family. House Bliss.
The auction date… November, two years ago.
The Staff of Aspiration, huh…
I quietly searched my memory. I was sure that was the name of a magical artifact from the game.
A top-tier artifact, at that.
So it belonged to the Bliss family… But why sell it for so cheap?
They sold it through instant purchase. It must have been a rushed sale.
I guess they really needed the money. People did say the family was falling apart… looks like that was true.
Of course, just owning such a rare, top-tier artifact is proof enough that the family once held serious magical prestige…
But selling it at that price? That’s something else.
Hopefully that’s the only one they sold. Surely not more…
I quickly skimmed through the rest of the records.
It was ten years’ worth of data, but if I was just looking for the name “Bliss”, I could move fast.
“…Only this one record.”
After 30 minutes of searching—
I finally reached the last page and let out a sigh of relief.
“……”
Why would they sell something as valuable as a top-tier magical artifact?
November, two years ago. What on earth happened back then?
…I’d better visit the family estate before they sell off anything else.
I’d heard it many times before. Bliss was once a prestigious magical house.
There’s a chance I might be able to get my hands on some unexpectedly good magic books.
I closed the auction records I had spread out.
Come to think of it, ten years ago, Mirage Oasis wasn’t classified as a banned substance.
That top-tier prohibited drug I’d bought to match Camilla’s specs.
Who would’ve thought that ten years ago, it had been something you could buy at auction?
● Item: Mirage Oasis (herbal ingredient)
● Final Buyer: David Koskov
It’s a meaningless record now.
Outside, it was already dawn.
Click.
I turned off the magic lamp.
***
“Camilla. Did you know? You’ve picked up a weird habit lately.”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“That bracelet. You’ve been fiddling with it non-stop.”
“Ah… this?”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve never seen you wear accessories before. What gives? Hmm? You’re treating it like it’s super precious.”
“……”
“Did you get a boyfriend? Camilla~”
“It’s not like that.”
“Hmm? Then what is it, if you’re treating it so delicately?”
“It’s just a magical artifact.”
“Well, yeah, obviously. But I’m not asking about that. Camilla~ who gave it to you? A confession? Was it a confession?!”
“……”
“Why are you going mute, Camilla? Tell meee~!”
“S-Stop clinging to me!”
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